Top world stories of 2013
Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects an honor guard outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China’s plan to create a new security committee points to Xi’s effort to cement his authority as Communist Party leader, analysts said in November. (Andy Wong / Associated Press)
A supporter of the group Anonymous wearing a Guy Fawkes mask in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate holds a sign lauding Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose revelations about U.S. intelligence gathering reverberated across the globe. (Florian Schuh / AFP/Getty Images)
Egyptians wave national flags as fireworks light the sky over Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where hundreds of thousands of opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi celebrate his ouster. Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, drew ire with his Islamist leanings. (Amr Nabil / Associated Press)
Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at Chapel Royal in St. James’ Palace with their son, Prince George, for the christening of the 3-month-old royal. The fervor surrounding George’s birth in July 2013 illustrated the enduring popularity of the royal family. (John Stillwell / AFP/Getty Images)
The Centenario exploration oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is operated by the Mexican company Grupo R for the state-owned oil company Pemex. Mexican President President Enrique Pena Nieto on Dec. 20 signed a controversial law opening the country’s oil industry to foreign investment for the first time since it was nationalized in 1938. The change would break Pemex’s 75-year-old oil monopoly. (Omar Torres / AFP/Getty Images)
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan take part in a religious procession in Tolosa on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte, more than a week after Haiyan devastated the area. The United Nations estimated that 13 million people were affected, with about 1.9 million left homeless. (Philippe Lopez / AFP/Getty Images)
Farmers plant wheat in the Panjshir Valley, where animals are still used for plowing. The Panjshir Valley is one of the areas of Afghanistan where the Taliban never took charge. Many residents want peace to prevail after international troops leave Afghanistan, but they also say that they will fight again if there is a threat. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
People offer tributes to former South African President Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg. The anti-apartheid icon died Dec. 5 at age 95. (Alexander Joe / AFP/Getty Images)